One obvious candidate for the axe is Wildlife Services, a branch of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, which spends over $100 million annually to kill
more than one million animals-including black and grizzly bears, beavers,
mountain lions, coyotes,

DO NOT REPLY TO KINSHIP CIRCLE.
We do not have time to forward letters for people, but hope you will sign
and send to Big Wildlife. SEND SIGNED VERSION OF LETTER BELOW TO BRIAN
VINCENT: brian@bigwildlife.org

PLEASE SIGN ONTO LETTER TO ABOLISH WILDLIFE SERVICES FUNDING
DEADLINE TO SIGN ON: January 29, 2009
Below is a letter prepared by Wild Earth Guardians to the Obama
Administration urging the White House to end funding of the Department of
Agriculture’s Wildlife Services. As you may be aware, every year, Wildlife
Services kills millions of animals, including thousands of native
carnivores. The agency employs a host of cruel (and expensive and
unnecessary) methods to kill coyotes, bears, cougars, wolves, and other
wildlife. Animals are shot, poisoned, gassed in their dens, trapped, snared,
clubbed, pursued by hounds, targeted from helicopters and planes, or lured
to bait stations where they are shot. Other animals, even family dogs and
cats, are unintentionally injured or killed by agency actions…
http://www.wildearthguardians.org

TO SIGN ON TO LETTER:
DEADLINE TO SIGN ON: January 29, 2009
Send the following information to Brian Vincent — brian@bigwildlife.org
He will then forward that information to Wild Earth Guardians.

Re: Get the Federal Government Out of the Wildlife Extermination Business

Dear Ms. Killefer:

President Barack Obama has called for budget reform and line-by-line review
to root out government programs that do not work. In his inaugural address
of January 20th, Mr. Obama called upon government to “restore science,” make
government “work” and when it does not to “end” programs.

One obvious candidate for the axe is Wildlife Services, a branch of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, which spends over $100 million annually to kill
more than one million animals-including black and grizzly bears, beavers,
mountain lions, coyotes, and wolves. Most of this killing is done to protect
private industry and public lands ranchers, yet all Americans foot the bill
for this ineffective, wasteful, ecologically unsound, and ethically
indefensible agency.

Between 2004 and 2007, Wildlife Services killed more than 8.3 million
animals, largely at taxpayer expense. We contend this agency is:

* Biologically and Fiscally Unsound. Both biologists and economists
criticize Wildlife Services for using a “sledgehammer approach” to wildlife
management, which relies largely on non-selective killing methods such as
poison, primitive neck snares and traps, and aerial gunning, but fails to
look at look at long-term, ecologically sound, and humane solutions to
human-wildlife conflicts;

* Unnecessary. A handful of livestock producers actually experience
predator problems while the vast majority of unintended cattle and sheep
deaths come from birthing problems, disease, or weather, not predation. In
essence, Wildlife Services’ livestock protection program is an unneeded,
costly subsidy to one private business that unfairly competes with private
animal control businesses for contracts;

* Sloppy and Dangerous. Wildlife Services litters the American landscape
with deadly poisons and traps that are inherently indiscriminate and often
kill curious pets, threatened and endangered species, and other animals that
are unintentionally killed. The USDA’s Office of Inspector General has
sanctioned Wildlife Services as a security threat on several occasions for
its negligent handling of toxicants. Last year, the Environmental Protection
Agency charged the agency for improper placement of sodium cyanide booby
trap on public lands that harmed a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist and
killed his dog. In addition, the Wildlife Services aerial gunning program
caused at least ten human fatalities and 28 injuries to federal employees
and contractors; and

* Anachronistic, Unethical, and Environmentally Abusive. Because of this
agency’s history of misuse and abuse of wildlife and public lands, it has
been called to task by Congress several times over its 100-year history. A
1995 GAO report found that Wildlife Services fails to use non-lethal methods
to protect livestock and a 2001 GAO report said the agency could not justify
its costs relative to its benefits. Moreover, the American Society of
Mammologists - one of the oldest and most respected professional
associations of scientists in North America - have issued two resolutions,
first in 1934, and then in 1999, that called on the agency to “cease
indiscriminate, preemptive, lethal control programs on federal, state, and
private lands….and to focus on the implementation of non-lethal control
strategies, compensatory measures, and sound animal husbandry techniques.”

Astonishingly, even though practical and time-tested non-lethal alternatives
are available, Wildlife Services continues to rely on lethal, indiscriminate
methods that wastes millions of dollars in worthless, “research” projects
that provide little to no practical applicability. In the meantime, new,
more effective non-lethal techniques that have been developed are seldom
actually employed in the field. The few useful functions of this agency
could be easily transferred to state, local and private agencies without ill
effect. The Portland International Airport, for example, handles its own
bird-strike mitigation program.

As the Obama Administration takes its scalpel to root out costly and
wasteful programs, we urge the administration to see this agency for what it
is by getting rid of this costly, ineffective, and unjustifiable boondoggle.

Tuesday January 27, 2009, 5:39 am
I will send e-mail too and also this one:

http://www.bigwildlife.org/bigcat.php
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SAVE OREGON'S COUGARS

To: Jo.L.Bell@state.or.us
Ann.Butte@state.or.us

SAMPLE LETTER TO EDITOR
Dear editor:
Last summer, lawmakers – prodded by Governor Ted Kulongoski and Senators Alan Bates and Brad Avakian – ignored Oregonians and voted to once again allow hunters to pursue cougars with packs of hounds. On January 11, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet to draft new rules for houndsmen to chase the wild cats. Once the rules are adopted, the state will deputize hunters with dogs to kill up to 2,000 cougars in the state. In 1994, voters passed Measure 18 to ban hounding of cougars and bears because they believe hounding is cruel. We also approved the initiative because we support strong protections for our state's wildlife. I urge Oregon officials to abandon their ill-conceived plans to slaughter one of the state’s most magnificent species.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME
ADDRESS
PHONE
EMAIL

For the U.S.: 2. ) CONTACT Governor Ted Kulongoski. Tell him you are disappointed he signed HB 2971 into law and urge him to halt the Cougar Management Plan.
Phone the Governor at: (503) 986-6530

Tuesday January 27, 2009, 5:44 am
For the U.S.: 2. ) CONTACT Governor Ted Kulongoski. Tell him you are disappointed he signed HB 2971 into law and urge him to halt the Cougar Management Plan.
Phone the Governor at: (503) 986-6530